Improved apparatus for corking bottles



UNiTED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY REDLICH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CORKING BOTTLES.

specification foi-ming part of Letters Patent N0. 35,325, dated .May 20, 186e.

clare that the following is a full, clear, and

exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical central section of my inventlon, taken in the line .r .90; Fig. 2, ahorizontal section of the same, taken in the line Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in the two figures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a simple and efiicient device by which bottles may be corked and the corks compressed to iit the bottles at one operation. To this end a wooden or metallic box is used, having a conical bore the lower and smaller diameter of which is equal to the internal diameter of the orifice of the neck of the bottle to be corked, said box being provided with a plunger and also with a cap, which serves as a guide for the plunger, all being arranged to operate :as-hereinafter described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will Aproceed to describe it.

A represents a box, which may be of wood or metal. In this case it is represented as being of wood, and is of inverted conical form and provided with an inverted conical bore, B, the lower and smaller end of which is equal in diameter to the internal diameter of the neck of the bottle which is to receive the cork. (See Fig. l, in which the neck of the bottle is shown in red.) The lower end of the box A is hollowed out, so 'that il: may be tted snugly to the top of the neck of the bottle, with the box in avertical position. The box A is provided at its upper end with a cap, C, which is iitted on it likean ordinary box-lid, and this cap has a hole, a, at its center, to allow a rod or plunger, D, to pass through it, said plunger being a trifle smaller in diameter than the lower and smaller end of the bore B.

When a wooden box, A, is used, the bore B requires to be lined with metal, E, as shown in Fig. l.

The implement or device is used as follows: The cork (shown in red, Fig. l) to be driven into the bottle is placed in the upper part of the bore B. The -cork of course is larger in diameter than the internal diameter of the neck of the bottle which is to receive it. The cap C is then placed on the box A, the plunger D passed through the hole a in the cap, and the box adj usted to the top of the bottle. The operator then, while holding the box with his left hand, drives down the plunger D with a mallet and forces th'e cork into the neck of the bottle. I

In driving the cork down through the bore B the former is compressed to the size required to fit the bottle, and hence the compressing and driving operations are simultaneously performed. By this simple means the operation of corking bottles may be expedit-iously performed, as the corks do not require to be assorted into sizes to iit the bottles, provided all are larger in diameter than the neck of the bottles they are to fill. It also dispenses with the use of special cork-com pressing devices hitherto used for compress 'ing corks previous to driving. them into bottles,and by my invention corks of irregular form may be used, as under the compression to which they are subjectedA they will be reduced to a proper form as well as to a proper size previous to their advent into the bottles, for square corks have been placed in the bore B and driven into bottles inl a cylindrical shape, the corks originally being very much largerthan the necks of the bottles which received them in their compressed form. The invention also obviates the breaking of bottles, owing to corks of too large diameter being driven into them. This contingency invariably occurs in driving uncompressed corks, as it is necessary that the corks should be compressed to insure a tight fit, and if not previously compressed by some device they must be larger than the necks of the bottles they are designed to iill, and consequently compressed by the necks while being driven; hence the breakage.

Having thust described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letter Patent, is Y f The box A, provided with an inverted conical bore, B, and plunger D, in combination with the movable cap C, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

HENRY` REDLIoH.

` Vitnesses:

JACOB DTEDEN, CONRAD S. DIEHL. 

